Rochdale Football Club is delighted to announce the permanent signing of Ryan Delaney from Championship side Burton Albion.
The 21-year-old defender joins Dale on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
After starting his career at Wexford Youths, he moved to the Brewers in 2016 and went on a season-long loan to Cork City last January. He returned to Nigel Clough’s side in December at the end of his loan deal.
Delaney started 30 of Cork’s 33 league games, scoring five goals along the way, as the side were crowned League of Ireland champions. He also helped Cork to FAI Cup success, as they did the double, notching up 49 appearances in total during his spell there.
His outstanding performances for the Rebels earned him a place in the PFAI Team of the Year.
After putting pen to paper, Delaney, who has been capped by Ireland at Under-21 level, commented: “I wanted to come to a club that would help me progress even further and I feel that, at this point in my career, Rochdale is going to be a good club to help me to do that.
“The last year has been very good for me and I enjoyed getting out playing football and getting regular games. I feel as though I’ve improved a lot over the last year, so hopefully I can keep on progressing.”